Questions tagged [participial-phrases]

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Why is the comma added? [closed]

Why is the comma added in the following? [The] Hyena crept slowly round, making the most of his spotted brown camouflaged fur against the brownish stems of grass.
sara elshabrawy's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
91 views

Function of "unattended" in "Luggage left unattended will be taken away by the police"

In the following sentence, does "unattended" function as a subject complement of "luggage"? Luggage left unattended will be taken away by the police P.S: I am well aware that the ...
Med Jr's user avatar
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Ambiguity in the nature of the participle: an adjective, a verb or a non-finite participle clause [duplicate]

Is there ay test to differentiate between an adjective phrase, a participle clause and a verb phrase in the passive? I know they all function as modifiers to an NP. In the following examples I am a ...
Med Jr's user avatar
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Participle clause containing a subject [duplicate]

I am confused as to whether it is correct to use a participle clause as a nonessential element in a sentence like with a participle phrase. For example, I know that the following sentence is correct: ...
stuckonaparticiple's user avatar
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1 answer
101 views

Past participle form of the verbs "walk", "meet", "sit", etc

From the explanation about participle phrases from this British Council's page, it lists some past participles such as gone, read, seen, walked, etc.. Having said that, I tried to construct sentences ...
Khanh Tran's user avatar
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1 answer
231 views

Use "hang" or "hung", when to use passive voice of "hang"?

In this example, "framed picture hung on wall". "hang" is passive. However, in "a picture of a dinosaur hanging on the wall ." and "many umbrellas hanging from the ...
hidemyname's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
117 views

Present participle result

I need your valuable comments on the following two sentences regarding the meaning of participle clauses: Economists often criticize rent control, arguing that it is a highly inefficient way to help ...
Yasir's user avatar
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1 answer
71 views

What’s the meaning of ‘stand hacking‘? [duplicate]

I'm trying to understand this sentence: For hours I stood hacking at the icy ground. Which is in this excerpt of Viktor Frankl’s 1947 book, Man's Search for Meaning: Another time we were at work in ...
William8964's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
272 views

Gerund vs Participle

When discussing faulty parallelism in Merriam Webster's (1994) Dictionary of English Usage, they use the following sentence to illustrate faulty parallelism, but in doing so they refer to "taking ...
Eric1982's user avatar
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present participle in there be sentences [duplicate]

"There is a man sitting under the tree. " How to explain the "sitting" grammatically?
Lylia's user avatar
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Correct pronouns with participial phrases

In reference to a photo: There’s Bill and I on the mound, he having walked the batter, I handing him the ball... he/his/him having walked I/me handing him Did I get the right pronouns in the above ...
GramNan's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
232 views

Using participle constructions instead of subordinate clauses

I'm studying to become a teacher. Yesterday, my students took a test. The first task was to rewrite the given sentences using a participle construction. Right now, I'm struggling with one sentence ...
Julia's user avatar
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Relative reduced adjective phrase rephrased as Compound Adjective

Balloon filled with gas = gas-filled balloon Infested with mosquito = mosquito-infested Covered in/with snow = snow-covered Necklace studded with diamonds = diamond studded Deprived of sleep = sleep-...
OJASVI's user avatar
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-1 votes
1 answer
348 views

What's correct: "I saw him eating" or "I saw his eating"? [duplicate]

I was always taught that if you can replace a participle with a pronoun, then you should use the possessive case. So instead of "I saw him eating", because I can substitute "it" ...
meesterguyperson's user avatar
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1 answer
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Can participial phrases describe the actions of a subject other than the first one mentioned?

I'm still very confused about the correct placement of participial phrases when they describe the action of a noun that isn't the main subject. "I eventually saw the film that had everyone ...
JJ_Doogal's user avatar
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Do you need a context to fully understand what a participle clause means? [duplicate]

Having finished the work, he went home. As you can see, there is no context available in that sentence. So, the above sentence could mean: Because he had finished the work, he went home. Or, After ...
Mostafizur Rahman's user avatar
3 votes
0 answers
78 views

Question about the word order [duplicate]

I know these two sentences are correct: Europeans consider climate change to be the most serious problem facing the world. Perhaps the most serious problem facing the environment is global warming. ...
Spider's user avatar
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2 answers
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"As pets being welcome, she stayed at the hotel with her dog." [closed]

I know that the the following two sentences are validly structured. Pets being welcome, she stayed at the hotel with her dog. and As pets were welcome, she stayed at the hotel with her dog. The ...
Min's user avatar
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Participial phrase separating main verbs

Let's say you have the following sentence: I stood there and wondered what to do next. Now, let's say you insert a participial phrase after "there." I stood there looking at her and wondered ...
Eric1982's user avatar
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Can I use a participial phrase in this way to modify the objects of a sentence?

I've been thinking recently about participial phrases and all the ways they can be used. I've been advised that it's good to think of them as providing a supplementary predication about the subject, ...
JJ_Doogal's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
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'He went into the room, opening the door using a skeleton key.' Is the time-sequence correct? Is the ‘using’ clause showing method?

He went into the room, opening the door using a skeleton key. Is the time-sequence (participial clause describing an event taking place before the main-clause event) correct? Is the ‘using’ clause ...
Edwin Ashworth's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
94 views

Parts of speech or participial construction (insertion of "palm face up")

People don’t usually think of touch as a temporal phenomenon, but it is every bit as time-based as it is spatial. You can carry out an experiment to see for yourself. Ask a friend to cup his hand, ...
gomadeng's user avatar
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-1 votes
2 answers
120 views

Is there any preference in the use of participial clause versus a relative clause? [duplicate]

For example, A. I defined the density as the number of persons populating the region. B. I defined the density as the number of persons that populate the region. Also consider the following. C. ...
Millemila's user avatar
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1 answer
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“Based on” X, we can say Y?

Based on the evidence available, I’m not sure I can conclude anything. We often say that X is based on Y to mean X is grounded in, or adapted from, Y. But can we use it as above as if it were a sort ...
David Roth's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
2k views

Participle Phrases as Adverbs

I'm teaching my daughter some grammar lessons and ended up a bit confused about how to analyze participle phrases such as "removing his coat" in the following sentence: Removing his coat, ...
Mark D.'s user avatar
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0 answers
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Participial construction. Can I say like that?

I want to ask about the participial construction. Please check and comment on these 2 sentences. -Being unable to remember that word, I often feel frustrated. -Unable to remember that word, I often ...
Amy's user avatar
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A question concerned to the participles

The traveller, being weary, sat by the woodside to rest. My book says the present participle being weary (passive) is used absolutely in the sentence with the noun The traveller. But it's separated by ...
Rich Handsome Guy's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
382 views

Grammatical function of "According to..."

What is the function of the phrase "according to" in sentences like "According to my neighbor, it will rain tomorrow"? It seems like the phrase "according to my neighbor" ...
Mark's user avatar
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1 answer
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What does "ensuring" refer to?

Original sentence: "If ethics and business are to be viewed as inextricably linked, management must play an important role in this process, ensuring that a company follows an ethical code of ...
Zev's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
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What is the subject of a participial phrase?

But the hand which I now saw, clearly enough, in the yellow light of a mid-London morning, lying half shut on the bedclothes, was lean, corded, knuckly, of a dusky pallor and thickly shaded with a ...
Seulgi So's user avatar
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1 answer
103 views

Temporal Participial Phrases

He lay staring into the sky. He came running towards me. He arrived finding nobody there. I have read this by John Lawler but am struggling to put these into one of the five categories he mentioned. ...
Joe's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
315 views

I was happy playing the piano (gerund or participle?)

In the sentence, “I was happy playing the piano,” is the phrase “playing the piano” a participial (Playing the piano, I was happy) or a gerund with an elided, or assumed, preposition (I was happy [...
David Marlowe's user avatar
-1 votes
2 answers
602 views

verb-ing modifier trouble

I'm unexplainably confused about this topic. What does the following verb-ing clause modify? (noun) researchers or (action) have sent? How do we decide that? --> very important for me Is there any ...
Soner from The Ottoman Empire's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
91 views

What is the omitted subject of 'eating with your brother' in 'the big guy eating with your brother'?

(1) Who's the big guy [ ___ eating with your brother]? Here, the subject of the bracketed non-finite clause is omitted, as shown in the blank, and is retrievable from the main clause. I'd like to ...
JK2's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
64 views

Is this participle clause sentence correct? [closed]

How do you think about this sentence? Is it ok grammatically? Having been in shape, I go to gym twice a week. `
Kayvan Salimi's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
946 views

Perfect Participle - "Having gained truth, keep truth"

"Having gained truth, grab the truth" This is an example of the Exercise in Grammar 51 in Wren and Martin, which actually asks for the noun being qualified by the partciple beside its type. Now, two ...
Mushrraf Baig Ashraf's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
181 views

Are all "Dangling Participles" wrong?

I solved a grammar exam recently, and one question got me wondering. The answer key says that Stepping inside the church, the large columns supporting the ceiling immediately catch your eye. is ...
Du Brisingr Arget's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
653 views

Preposition followed by participial phrase

For example, After brushing my teeth, I go to bed Is this a participial phrase, or a prepositional phrase, or both? Brushing my teeth... Is participial, but the after is making me think that ...
Marvin's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
69 views

A Gerund or Participial Phrase?

The state's ACLU branch reached out to the Massachusetts State Police requesting records regarding the acquisition and use of robotics. Should there be a comma before "requesting" ? Is the "...
MickeyWufff's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
56 views

What does 'fungus-growing' mean?

Renowned Swiss entomologist Martin Luscher described the mounds of this fungus-growing species as being as much as 16 feet tall, 16 feet in diameter at their base, and with a cement-like wall of ...
yanqizhao's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
70 views

Tenses to pair with participial phrases

I am teaching about participial phrases these days, and all examples I am able to find online have the phrases paired with simple tenses. For example: Removing his glasses, Kent Clark quickly put ...
Frankibutter's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
394 views

How to explain the tenses in these sentences?

So my Japanese student is having trouble understanding why the following tenses are used and I’m not sure how to explain it. My line manager wants the meeting arranged immediately. Why does that ...
Anna's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
127 views

What is the official rule(s) regarding punctuation and end-sentence participles?

I tried searching for this, but only received more questions, instead of answers. Recently, I was asked a question about participial phrases and the punctuation that surrounds them. Attempting to ...
AJK432's user avatar
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0 votes
2 answers
390 views

Blue eyes white dragon

Why BLUE EYES white dragon ,not BLUE EYED ? Does anyone know why ? Because , as far as I’m concerned , the latter is the correct form Or maybe I just got it wrong? if anyone in this world knows ...
Skyler's user avatar
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-1 votes
1 answer
179 views

How is "swimming" being used grammatically in "I saw them swimming in the lake"?

Consider this sentence: I saw them swimming in the lake. How is "swimming" used in the sentence? Is it a gerund or verb or anything else and how is it connected to the sentence? I am mostly aware ...
Manish Kumar Balayan's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
1k views

Which are right choices in: “Can you imagine him/his forgetting his own birthday?”

Which one of the following is correct? Can you imagine his forgetting his own birthday? Can you imagine him forgetting his own birthday? The question was asked in SNAP 2009 and I can't understand ...
Mahendra Singh Bisht's user avatar
10 votes
2 answers
3k views

The grammaticality and function of "people ages 20 to 30" (as opposed to "people aged 20 to 30")

I have seen/heard constructions similar to "people ages 20 to 30" many times. However, several discussions, including questions on ELU, suggest the aforementioned construction is ...
user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
1k views

Participial Phrases

Is the sentence below grammatically correct? I repeatedly punched his face until I passed out, my arms sliced a few times by his blade." I know what participial phrases are; I read about them ...
Jeloh Simo's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
305 views

"I remember watching Dallas," vs. "I remember us watching Dallas."

I remember watching Dallas. I remember us watching Dallas. I know that both are common usage. What I don't understand is exactly what role "watching" has in the second sentence. It is clearly a ...
Chuckk Hubbard's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
464 views

How do I know what a participial phrase is within a sentence?

Recently, I have realized that there are huge gaps in my knowledge in terms of grammar, so I have begun learning some of the basics. One thing I am trying to learn is the participial phrase. I ...
Wirlfir's user avatar
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